Rob McCallum, FRGS

Rob McCallum, EYOS Founding Partner, is a professional Expedition Leader and exploration consultant. His diverse background ranges from the polar regions to the remote tropics, and to every depth of the world’s ocean.

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Bio

Rob has led expeditions for a wide variety of private clients, science entities, Government agencies and film-makers across all 7 continents and five oceans.  He is widely regarded as a global expert on the design and management of complex technical expeditions. Rob is an acknowledged industry leader in deep-water submersible operations.

Deep Ocean Exploration

Rob is the deepest diving New Zealander having attained full ocean depth (10,925m) in the Challenger Deep in 2021.

He has planned, managed and led deep submergence expeditions across every ocean, including the Five Deeps Expedition , the multi-year ‘Ring of Fire Expedition’, all of the worlds 10,000m+ trenches, the world’s deepest shipwreck (6500m), RMS Titanic (7 times) and the battleship Bismarck.  Rob was the vessel manager of RV Alucia for her successful search for AF47.

In 2023, Rob led the ‘Interstellar Expedition’ for Harvard University, successfully locating the world’s first meteorite from outside our solar system at a depth of 1700m.

Arctic and Antarctic

Rob has spent three decades guiding and leading expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. His work in the remote Antarctic has included several record-breaking expeditions to the Ross Sea and multiple visits to the South Pole. In the Arctic his expeditions have spanned the Arctic Circle including record breaking transits of the North West Passage the first descent to the deepest point of the Arctic Ocean.

South Pacific/Melanesia

Rob has lived, worked and visited Melanesia for 5 decades, including 15 years living in Papua New Guinea where he gained extensive knowledge of the region and its intricate culture.  He has completed dozens of expeditions throughout Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands for international agencies, academic institutions and private clients.

Expedition Vessel Design

Rob managed the 4-year design and construction of the research vessel and yacht Alucia, considered a turning point for the world’s expedition fleet, demonstrating the extraordinary capability of hybrid design combining science, film making and private exploration. Alucia remains a reference vessel for many modern designs.

As part of the core design team for SeaXplorer, Rob contributed his deep experience in global expeditions (on a wide variety of vessels) into the design DNA of the Damen ‘SeaXplorer’ range.

Ocean Science

Rob is a founding partner of Yachts for Science and serves as a Trustee to Nekton and to Ocean Census. Rob has acted as a mentor for several ‘emerging explorers’ for The Explorers Club. He is widely consulted in regards to privately funded ocean science and philanthropic ocean research.

Consultant

In addition to working with exclusive clients interested in exploring beyond the beaten path, Rob has consulted for Harvard University, the Norwegian Navy,  National Geographic Society, Discovery Channel, BBC, NHK , CNN and a wide ranch of philanthropic entities and Family Trusts.

Other Notable Things

Rob is a licensed aircraft pilot, a PADI Divemaster, a published author,  a Fellow of the Explorers Club (recipient of the 2020 Citation of Merit) and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London.